27th November 2013 // No Comments

Winter Tales Recipe and Tutorial: Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcakes

As cold, frosty mornings set in across the land here in the UK it’s time for the Snow Queen to begin her reign. What better way to see in the chilly season with these Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes; soft and light vanilla cakes filled with luxurious white chocolate ganache, swirled with white vanilla buttercream and finally finished with a beautiful, sparkling crown! Display them atop a lovely silver platter or a pristine white tiered cake stand sprinkled with edible glitter for an extra frosty look. The wonderful thing about these particular cupcakes is they manage to be both fun for the kids yet full of glitz and glamour for more grown up sophisticated parties!

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226 butter
226g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 bourbon vanilla pod

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first and when ready add your eggs and vanilla. Once combined add the flour, mix well and pour your batter into your cases. Bake for around 20-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

White Chocolate Ganache Filling

200g white chocolate callets, chips or buttons
100ml double cream
Glass bowl
Whisk
Saucepan of hot water

In a glass bowl pour in the chocolate with the double cream and set into a saucepan of hot water. Stir gently with the whisk until melted and incorporating together. Remove from the hob and leave the bowl of chocolate and cream to set either in a refrigerator or on a windowsill in cold weather (cover with cling film if doing so). The ganache will be ready to fill your cupcakes with when it has the consistency of peanut butter.

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural vanilla essence
Icing and buttercream whitener

Add half of the of butter diced into pieces. Cream the butter in a mixer. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste and add a few drops of icing whitener at a time until you’re happy with the colour.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

How to Make the Snow Queen’s Crown

You will need…

Gray sugarpaste / fondant (we used coloured plain paste with liquorice gel paste food colour)
Tylo powder
Lustre dust
Fondant rolling pin
Straight edge blade tool
Ball tool
Edible glue
Paintbrushes

Step one: Add some tylo powder to your white or gray sugarpaste / fondant. You should only add a small amount; around 1/4 of a teaspoon per 250g.

Step two: Using a fondant rolling pin roll out your paste until around 3mm-4mm thick. With the straight edge blade tool cut out an elongated crown shape around 5-6cm in width at the bottom (but growing larger towards the top) and height.

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Step three: Using the blade tool cut out a series of un-regimented ‘spikes’ along the top of the crown. Still using the blade tool indent ‘spikes’ along the crown’s bottom.

Step four: Roll out some gray fondant and cut a small strip. Cut ‘spikes’ along the top.

Step five: Using some dabs of edible glue attach the jagged strip from step four along the middle of the crown.

Step six: To create the pearls on the Snow Queen’s crown indent sections of the crown with the ball tool. Roll up some small white fondant balls and attach by adding a dab of edible glue into the indentation and lightly pressing the small ball into it. Alternatively you could use pearl beads.

Step seven: To shape your crown carefully stand it upright and paint the edges with edible glue before gently pressing together. Leave to set.

Step eight: Once your crown is set brush generously with silver lustre dust (avoiding the white fondant balls you’ve just attached). Leave for a few minutes and then dust once more.

Step nine: To make the pearls shimmer lightly brush them with a new paintbrush and some pearl lustre dust.

Once your crown is ready you can assemble your Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes! Pipe each cake with your vanilla buttercream, gently nestle your crowns into the frosting and sprinkle generously with snowflake sprinkles! You can also add some edible glitter for some extra sparkle if you wish.

Vanilla Snow Queen Cupcake by Juniper Cakery

Voila! Congratulations on your collection of gorgeously glimmering Vanilla Snow Queen cupcakes; perfect for the frosty festive season.

19th November 2013 // 9 Comments

Winter Tales Recipe and Tutorial: Peppermint Forest Cupcakes

We commence the frosty yet festive season with a collection of winter themed cupcake recipes and tutorials created to help make your party stand out and keep the frazzled stress levels at bay. These adorable and sweet (no pun intended) Peppermint Forest cupcakes evoke a crisp Winter Wonderland paired with Germanic fairytales and a childhood favourite board game for the American-bred half of Juniper Cakery… Candyland! We loved the idea of this so much that all of our ‘Winter Tales’ recipes and tutorials encompass a fairy tale-esque theme. Why not try our recipe and cupcake decorating tutorial for a truly magical batch of treats!

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

Peppermint Cupcake Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226 butter
226g caster sugar
4 eggs
6-12 drops of natural peppermint extract

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first. When creamy add your eggs and vanilla extract. When combined together it is time to add the flour. Mix well until silky and pour the batter into your cases. Bake for around 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

Peppermint Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural peppermint extract
Pink gel paste food colour
White nonpareils to sprinkle
White edible glitter to sprinkle
828 open star piping tip

Dice the butter into pieces and add half to your mixer. Once the butter is smooth gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (also diced into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add the flavour to taste.

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

How to Make Your Peppermint Forest

You will need…

60g white candy melts
Disposable piping bag
White nonpareils to sprinkle
White edible glitter to sprinkle
2.5 PME Writing Piping Tip
Baking or parchment paper

Step one: Lay out a flat sheet of baking parchment paper (you may need more depending on how many trees you’d like to make).

Step two: Melt the candy melts by stirring them in a glass bowl set over a pan of boiling water. If you decide to melt them in the microwave take care not to burn them as they would become unusable.

Step three: Fit a disposable piping bag with the writing tip.

Step four: Add the melted candy melts into the disposable piping bag you just prepared.

Winter Tales Peppermint Forest Cupcakes

Step five: On the baking or parchment paper(s) pipe out some tree shapes varying from around 1.5cm to 6cm. Whilst still melted sprinkle with edible glitter or sprinkles. Leave to set.

Step six: Pipe your cupcakes generously with your lovely pink peppermint buttercream. We used the 828 open star piping tip which can be found at the link provided.

Step seven: Once your trees have hardened carefully lift them from the paper and insert them into the buttercream atop of your cupcakes. Nestle enough in to create a charming candy forest!

Step eight: Once your trees are in place sprinkle them with white edible glitter and white nonpareils.

You should now be left with a pretty collection of peppermint cupcakes festooned with festive candy Christmas trees; perfect for a sweet winter treat!

Peppermint Forest Cupcakes by Juniper Cakery

13th November 2013 // No Comments

Autumn Recipe and Tutorial: Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

These addictive and decadent Golden Apple Strudel cupcakes are perfect to satisfy an autumnal sweet tooth. They are crumbly, soft cakes with brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice baked in, filled with chunky homemade apple sauce, swirled with apple buttercream and topped with a gold dusted fondant apple; wonderfully simple and tempting, we’re sure you’ll agree!

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Strudel Cupcakes Recipe (makes approx. 12 cupcakes)

226g self raising flour
226g butter
226g brown sugar
4 eggs
2 handfuls of raisins or sultanas (for some boozy decadence leave these to soak in a teacup of whiskey overnight before adding into your batter - remember to drain the whiskey first before adding to avoid sloppy, overly moist batter)
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon allspice

Pre-heat your over to Gas Mark 3 / 160C / 325F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake cases. Cream your butter and sugar first. When pale and creamy add your eggs, spices and raisins. When combined add the flour. Mix well and then pour your silky batter into your cases. Bake for around 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when tested.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Apple, Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Filling

5 large cooking apples
3 teapsoon cinnamon
140g brown sugar
14 tablespoons water

Peel and chop up your apples in chunks around 1cm in size. In a saucepan add the chopped apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and water on high heat. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to medium and let simmer until the apple pieces have softened and the water has reduced a little. Take off the heat and mash before pouring into a jar. Leave to cool. Once cooled down you can core your cupcakes with a good cupcake corer and spoon your delicious apple mixture inside.

Apple Buttercream Recipe

250g butter
250-300g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural apple essence

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

How to Make the Golden Apples

To make your golden apple cupcake toppers you will need…

Golden coloured sugarpaste / fondant (we coloured ours with Caramel / Ivory gel paste food colour)
Small leaf plunger cutter
Edible glue
2 paintbrushes (one for the glue and a dry one for applying lustre dust - remember to use brushes that have ONLY been used on/for food items)
Gold lustre dust
Taped modelling tool
Fondant rolling pin
Icing sugar

To make classic red apples instead you will need…

Red sugarpaste / fondant (use Christmas Red gel paste) for the apples
Brown sugarpaste / fondant (use Dark Brown gel paste) for the stalk
Green sugarpaste / fondant (use Juniper Green gel paste food colouring) for the leaf
Small leaf plunger cutter
Edible glue
1 paintbrush (remember to use brushes that have ONLY been used on/for food items)
Taped modelling tool
Fondant rolling pin
Icing sugar

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step one: Shape some sugarpaste / fondant into the body of your apple. Begin with a ball and smooth your fingers over it to create a slightly tapered base and rounded top.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step two: For the leaf simply roll out some sugarpaste / fondant onto an icing sugar dusted surface and use the plunger cutter to cut out a small leaf. Leave on a curved surface (e.g. a teaspoon) to dry into a more natural shape. OR you could shape a small piece of sugarpaste into a leaf shape and indent the centre with a line using a veining tool.

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

Step three: To create the stalk shape a small amount of sugarpaste / fondant into a apostrophe-like shape with a flat top.

Step four: Attach the stalk and leaf by pushing the tapered modelling tool into the top of the apple, add a dab of edible glue into the indent for the leaf, insert the stalk into the top of the apple and lightly press the leaf next to the stalk where you’ve applied some edible glue.

Step five: If you’re creating golden apples leave your apples to dry fully. Once dry dust generously with gold lustre dust. Leave to sit for a few minutes before dusting again until you get a gorgeous glimmering gold!

Now you have your own Golden Apple Strudel cupcakes; perfect for any seasonal party!

Autumn Golden Apple Strudel Cupcakes

7th November 2013 // No Comments

Macmillan Coffee Morning: Strawberries ‘n’ Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes!

Every year we happily created hundreds of delicious cupcakes to help raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning! This year we whipped up some classic cupcakes in the form of Strawberries ‘n’ Cream, Lemon Drizzle, Raspberry Ripple and Rainbow Vanilla. Unfortunately, the latter two flavours flew out of the door so fast that we couldn’t move quick enough to snap a lovely photograph, but trust us when we say that they were a delight to behold!

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Macmillan Cancer Support is an exceptionally wonderful charity who offer emotional, physical and financial guidance for cancer patients and their families. Both last and this year’s fundraising cupcakes helped raise nearly £400 for the charity and we’re aiming for bigger and better things next year!

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Our Strawberries ‘n’ Cream cupcake consisted of a lovely soft and fluffy cake filled with homemade strawberry confiture,finished with bourbon vanilla pod and strawberry two tone buttercream toppled with Callebaut white chocolate callets.

The zesty Lemon Drizzle cupcake we created is a light lemon cake filled with homemade lemon curd, frosted with bourbon vanilla pod infused buttercream, topped with vibrant lemon drizzle and gold sugar pearls.

Strawberries and Cream and Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

5th November 2013 // 2 Comments

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake with The Happy Egg Co.!

Autumn always brings forth some wonderfully warming and indulgent flavours when it comes to food and celebrations. As Guy Fawkes’ Night festivities commence in the United Kingdom this month’s cake is nothing short of a subtle yet sumptuous treat; perfect to enjoy during the Bonfire Night shenanigans! Imagine slicing into a fragrant cake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger; covered and filled with home made caramel sauce and scrumptious apple buttercream; and then drizzled with even more caramel sauce! Wouldn’t that be the perfect addition to your dinner table this 5th of November and during the rest of the chilly season! If you’re outside of Great Britain we’re sure you’ll still enjoy this recipe too. The rich spices, tangy apple frosting and sweet caramel pair wonderfully with any autumnal soirée. The little fondant apples sat happily amidst dripping caramel resemble glistening apples bobbing in a barrel of water ready for party games.

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

Simple Spiced Cake Recipe (makes approximately 3 x 1″ layers of an 8″ diameter round cake)

453g self raising flour
453g butter
453g brown sugar
7 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teapoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

The Happy Egg Co. Eggs

Cream your butter in a mixer then add the brown sugar. Add in the flour along with half of the happy eggs for around one minute. Once half of the happy eggs are combined add the remaining and the spices to taste. Mix for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter in the pan until 2/3 full and place on the top shelf of a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 3/325F/170C. Bake for around 30 minutes. Repeat this step to create your second and third layer.

Apple Buttercream Recipe

500g butter (around two packs in the UK)
300-400g icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness YOU’D like)
6-12 drops of natural apple essence

For more hints and tips see our tutorial on how to make buttercream here.

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe

260g caster sugar
4 tablespoons of room temp water
140ml double cream
50g butter

On medium heat dissolve the sugar with the water whilst stirring in a saucepan. Raise the heat until the sugar mixture bubbles and turns a lovely golden brown (this should take around 5 minutes). Take off the heat and stir the cream and butter into your caramel sugar mixture. Leave to cool and it’s ready to fill and pour atop of your cake!

To assemble your cake smooth caramel sauce and apple buttercream between each layer of cake. Next apply a thin layer of buttercream over your cake evenly leaving extra buttercream for later. Smooth and leave in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Once chilled smother the rest of the lovely apple flavoured buttercream over the sides and top and smooth with a spatula. Now carefully pour the caramel sauce over the cake and use a clean spatula to push the sauce to the edges so it drips luxuriously! Finally you can decorate the top with little fondant apples, fudge pieces, cinnamon sticks or caramel filled truffles!

Spiced Apple & Caramel Cake by Juniper Cakery

We do hope you thoroughly enjoy this warm and taste bud tingling recipe during the ensuing chilly months. Try a generous slice with a cup of spicy chai tea or gingerbread flavour coffee for an uplifting treat!